2020 The Circuit League: Thursday notes

Both Buddy Buckets’ 17U and 16U squads gathered wins of considerable margins on the first day. As usual, both teams ran as a cohesive unit with just about everybody playing a role in the win. However, a few players still stood out at Drive Nation, including one non-Buddy prospect: <hr /> <h4>17U</h4> [player_tooltip player_id="955384" first="Ethan" last="Scott"] struck first and kept hammering defenders with elite efficiency from beyond the arch. It felt, for a long stretch of the early game, everybody on the floor was adjusting to the rim but Scott, who kept knocking down shots from every spot on the perimeter -- from the hip, from the catch, in transition, you name it. [player_tooltip player_id="745358" first="Dalante" last="Shannon"] played well, executing defensive ball-hawking and finding buckets on the opposite end thanks to his defensive intuition and speed. Offensively, pretty much everything fell for him as he took defenders to the rack, stopped on a dime to elevate at the mid-range and found buckets by virtue of his athleticism. [player_tooltip player_id="745355" first="Sean" last="Pedulla"] struggled shooting early but resigned to the slashing-and-passing game, tossing some dimes in the half-court and thenceforth setting himself up for easy baskets around the rim. He played with fluidity, using every jab, spin and pump fake intuitively to his benefit. He finished astonishingly well with both hands, and made it light work to out-leap and finesse defensive guards. [player_tooltip player_id="954194" first="JV" last="Seat"], who hopped in with both squads after months without basketball, played devoid of any quarantine rust. He played outside-in early, exploring his talents at the perimeter; it was his passing that most impressed. He distributed quality passes both from the perimeter and from the inside, translating to great scoring opportunities for teammates on back-door cuts, floats to the corner and more. Seth Meadows rebounded and returned with springs in his shoes Thursday evening, ferociously and aggressively competing at the rim in a way I had not previously witnessed. [player_tooltip player_id="745381" first="Keyshon" last="Spotwood"] played remarkable perimeter defense, blocking shots and passes at the wing. He handled the ball well in transition and distributed to teammates at a high rate, as well. [player_tooltip player_id="745376" first="James" last="Locke"] wasn’t hitting some of the shots you would usually expect from the esteemed sharpshooter, but his slashing game was a high point for Buddy. He got to the rack easily and finished well. [player_tooltip player_id="745371" first="Sean" last="Franklin"] used his usual turbo athleticism to gather boards, finish at the rim and even had a nice euro-step in transition early. Defensively, he was a nightmare for opposing guards and wings to try to beat on the dribble. <hr /> <h4>16U</h4> <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Didier-Maleng.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1008856 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Didier-Maleng-300x250.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="250" /></a>I didn’t get the chance to see much of [player_tooltip player_id="967448" first="Didier" last="Maleng"], but I did see the last stretch of his game with the elite Drive Nation squad, and I’ll have the chance to see him in more action Friday. His playing with Drive Nation, a Texas grassroots powerhouse with a national reputation, is a great fit for both parties and will open up huge opportunities for him. The 6-foot-9-ish center has remarkable power and speed to his advantage -- attributes schools at the Division-I level will always value. [player_tooltip player_id="955383" first="Reid" last="Lovelace"] was wheeling-and-dealing in the Buddy 16U game, handling the ball well in the half-court and dumping off great passes with pin-point accuracy to his teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="958417" first="Gabe" last="Seat"] keeps shooting the ball better-and-better, and it even looked like he has grown a tad this summer. He moves more fluidly from the catch into his shot, and he knocked down shot-after-shot from deep Thursday evening. Will Cain, another Edmond Memorial standout, played a sort-of-swingman role for the 16U squad, and his presence allowed Seat to acquire better shooting opportunities thanks to his success at the rim. He finished well with both hands, used his height to put the ball at the glass and even finished a dunk. Probably for the better, [player_tooltip player_id="967402" first="Tylor" last="McCarthy"] and [player_tooltip player_id="955385" first="Michal" last="Wooldridge"] did not want to bully the much undersized team with a sizable point deficit, so they both focused more on their essential game: screens, passing in the post and scoring with wide-open opportunities. I’m excited to see what the dynamic post duo has up its sleeve Friday.